Power Rangers: Horizon X
by Patrykowski der Jaeger
Summary: 2020: SPD has yet to reach a legitimate stature, leaving Earth defenseless. Lightspeed steps up, using their secretive "Operation Horizon X" to fend off the oncoming onslaught of The Kaiser's army, Nitros and Oria, with the Power Ranger: Horizon X.
1. Xpanding the Horizon, Part I

_Power Rangers_ is a registered trademark of Disney and is in no way affiliated with PRUnited Forums, nor vice-versa. No Copyright infringement intended.

_Xpanding the Horizon, Part I_

A faint beeping noise was coming from one of her consoles as she fanned her hand over a light cloud of steam.

"Melding process complete."

Angela looked over at the large machine where the female voice was still informing her of the melding. She paid it half a glance before returning to her computer, typing in figures that brought up several windows, all with complex signs and information.

"Activate ion neutralization," she spoke to her super computer.

It beeped and purred out, "Acknowledged."

With that, Angela walked briskly back to the puff of steam that was still issuing from a smaller machine. She slid on a pair of gloves lined with steel as she opened a latch in it. Instantly, a white light emanated from the small latch, and she slid her hand in to pull out a device similar to a computer chip. It was no larger than her palm as she held the glowing device to her eyes, inspecting its brilliance.

"Computer; analyze abnormal radiation."

"Unable to comply; radiation is too exponential to scan."

Angela frowned, placing the device back in its box before heading over to the larger machine that was still chirping about melding.

"Access melding chamber."

"-cess comple—" the machine cut itself off as it began saying another phrase; "Please enter access code. Please enter access code."

"Spectra."

"Access, granted."

The machine let out a groan as it began to open, a rush of air flowing from the open latch as a dark mist clouded her vision.

She pulled the goggles over her eyes that had been sitting idly on her head as she examined the sight. Through the goggles, the room became reddish, but she could easily make out yet another chip looking tool.

"Computer; analyze abnormal radiation."

Angela held her breath as the computer thought. Seconds seemed to pass like hours before the machine croaked out; "Unable to comply; radiation is too exponential to scan."

"Damn it!" she hissed, tossing the apparatus back in its melding chamber.

She pulled off her goggles in frustration and chucked them to an anonymous space in her lab as she returned to her super computer.

"Open communications channel via Lambda-Rho-Omicron-Eta-Chi."

Immediately, a box outlined in yellow appeared on the screen; it showed a room covered in the stark color of steel. It was unmistakably the new Lightspeed Headquarters; even Angela had no idea where it was located.

"Captain Mitchell, do you copy?"

Several moments of silence passed before a man walked into visual.

"Good to hear from you Mrs. Rawlings; how are things in the operation?"

"By the looks of it, it'll take at _least _another six months before these things are recalibrated. I can't even get the computer to give me some readout of the radiation, let alone a steady anomaly pattern."

Captain Mitchell looked irritated; "Angela, we don't have another 6 months. Operation Horizon X can't take a year to get up and running. What exactly do you need to get this done within the week?"

She let out a sigh mixed with a laugh; "A super computer capable of analyzing radiation more massive than several atomic bombs, a decoy for my family, and a whole lot of caffeine."

"Consider it done. Mitchell out."

—1—

"So what do you really think mom's doing in the basement?" Jennifer Rawlings whispered as she munched on more cereal.

Patrick Rawlings, her brother, looked over from the refrigerator as he continued to sip on his Gatorade, "What do you mean?"

"Don't you think it's slightly weird that she goes into the basement and doesn't come out until we're asleep?"

"No."

"Oh c'mon! Is it because your brain could be turned to mush from all the football?"

Patrick threw his empty bottle in the recycling bin; "Ha-ha, very funny. No, Jen, it's because it's her business. What part of privacy do you _not _understand?"

Jen swirled her spoon in the cereal, "I dunno, Patrick. I think there's something she's not telling us…and I intend to find out what it is."

The boy looked at his 16 year-old sister, seeing the slightly crazed look he'd seen in his dad's eyes, and that people said he got when he tried the impossible.

"You're insane…"

"Morning kids," Joel Rawlings, ex-Lightspeed Rescue Green Ranger surprised them, turning the corner and ruffling Patrick's hair.

"Hey!"

Their father let out a demeaning laugh as he headed to the fridge, "So what're the plans for this weekend?"

Patrick looked to Jen, who shrugged and mumbled something about a concert with her friend Christina.

"Is Christina the hot one?"

"You mean the _under-age _one?" Jen shot back, glaring knives into her 2-year senior brother.

—1—

"Big deal. Missiles. I played with missiles when I was 3; that was 30 years ago. Get me something interesting."

The woman flinched at his tone, but scurried away nonetheless.

"Sir, you have a phone call. It's from the CIA. They need some firepower."

"Oh…something interesting," the man laughed as he answered the cell phone.

The deal was over in seconds. The familiarity of power rushed through him as he clicked the phone shut. The mild satisfaction he got for being responsible of world changing events filled him up, but only temporarily. Nothing compared to those days of _real _glory, when he was out fighting for a cause; when he was rescuing rangers who didn't know anything about Rangering. Those were the days.

"Now, let's get back on the search for ranger powers. Has a link to the morphing grid been found yet?"

"Negative, sir," said a dark, tall male.

"Then _find it_."

"Nitros…sir…the morphing grid has been inaccessible for years. Only the most genius of people can manage to utilize its power and—"

The man was dead in seconds, much like Nitros' previous deal. His body lay strewn where it had once stood, his heart stopped from the incredibly high amount of electricity Nitros had induced to his feeble body.

"Someone needs to find that link…and soon."

—1—

Jen crept through the dark house, none of the stairs creaking as she headed to the lower level of their large home. She made her way around through the dining room, through the living room, and down a hallway that had several doors. On the farthest door was a high-tech padlock of sorts. The basement.

"You really _are _crazy, aren't you?'

Jen spun around, her eyes straining to see her darker skinned brother staring at her.

"Apparently it runs in the family; you came down didn't you?"

Patrick rolled his eyes, "Only to tell you how stupid you are, and that if we get caught, I'm totally blaming this all on you."

Jen ignored him as she crept closer to the door, looking over the padlock. It had no keyhole, but a series of buttons on it, and a thin green screen much like a calculator.

"I think you need to put in a password."

"Did you figure that out all by yourself?"

"Actually, I did. Did you think we were just going to barge into the basement without mom knowing?"

Jen pressed the buttons quickly, and a small _click _could be heard as it fell from the handle.

"Yup."

The teens crept down the dark basement stairs, glancing back up every few seconds.

"See? Nothing weird."

Jen refused to believe it. There was just no way her mom worked down here for hours at a time, with a government rented electric padlock.

"Look over there," she pointed.

A small emblem they were sure they'd seen before was visible just under a picture that had been knocked askew on the wall.

"What is that?"

"It's the Operation Lightspeed Rescue sigil," Patrick said slowly as they stepped closer.

Jen quickly pushed the picture of her and her family at a lake aside in order to fully view the mark. At further scrutiny, it was a button of sorts, fully encrusted with gold and blue metals.

"Don't push it!" Patrick half-shouted.

But it was too late.

Seconds later, the floor beneath Jen opened up and she immediately fell through a tube of sorts.

"Jen!"

The floor resumed its solidity at once, as Patrick painfully found out. He rubbed his now rug-burned chin as he pressed the Lightspeed emblem. Sure enough, the floor gave way and he was immediately sucked into the tube he'd seen his sister slide through.

Seconds later, he was standing in a _true _lab. Several huge computers with whirring sounds, beeps, and bubbling noises could easily be made out. To his left was a large pillar that seemed to be providing energy for all the electrical appliances, while to his right were several box like machines that held glowing black and white lights.

"What is this place?" Patrick wondered, seeing Jen observing the largest of the four computers.

"It's mom's work area…"

"Recalibration process incomplete. Unable to reconstruct exponential radiation and subatomic electron nodes."

Jen and Patrick looked at the computer in front of them. An ejecting sound much like a CD player was heard, and the boxes to their right and left pushed two chip looking devices out on trays.

"What are these?"

"MP Chips?" Patrick suggested, as he picked up the white and gold one, examining it curiously.

Jen grabbed the black and silver device, hesitating as she turned it over.

"Warning; X Morphers unstable. Warning; X Morphers unstable. Radiation levels waning. Mechanical radiation levels at an approximate 45.782. Bio-organic radiation levels increased; approximately 54.298 ."

"Whoa…did you feel that?'

Jen looked at her brother, whose eyes were now an eerie grey color, a faint light glowing in his pupil.

"Yeah…it felt…weird."

"Let's get out of here, dude," Patrick suggested.

He went to set the morpher down, but hesitated, looking at its shining beauty.

"Maybe we should just hang on to these and ask mom about it in the morning?"

—1—

"Do you think us randomly becoming sick has something to do with these weird chips?" Jen asked, holding her chip out to her brother.

He pulled her inside his room quickly; "Jen…look what I did to my alarm clock today…"  
Jen looked at the fried heap that _was _her brother's clock.

"Wha…how did you do that?"

He opened the palm of his hand, and a small ball of light popped into existence; "I think these chips did something to us…"

"Then why hasn't anything happened to me?"

"Well, last night, I was holding mine a lot, trying to see if it opened up or anything. Nothing happened, so I went to sleep. Did you go straight to sleep?"

"Yeah…"

"Then maybe that's why. I think this radiation's made us sick."

"Maybe we should give the chips back to mom," Jen said, making a move for Patrick's chip.

He grabbed her wrist rather forcefully; "No."

She looked at him in confusion, "Patrick…what is wrong with you?"

He let her wrist go. "Nothing. I just think that if we give them back it'll cause trouble. Besides…mom probably won't even know they're gone. She couldn't even program them right, so maybe she'll think they just blew up or something."

Jen looked doubtful, but she stopped trying to take her brother's chip; "So what should we do?"

"I don't think we should do anything about it. Hopefully this illness will pass and we'll be fine…with cool powers."

Patrick opened his hand again and the light ball appeared.

—1—

"What do you mean _gone_?"

"I don't know! The last reading the computer has says the radiation levels reached about 46 percent, and then vanished. It's possible the chips melted under such intense heat and scrutiny, but it's a very slight chance."

"We can't take _any _chances, Angela! If someone stole those chips, they're more likely to be a threat than anything else." Captain Mitchell rubbed his temples; "I want you back at Lightspeed. We don't have any other choice than go straight to plan B."

"I agree, which is why I'd like permission to create an emergency ranger team."

Mitchell paused; "What?"

"When I was looking at the readouts from the computer today, I realized what the problem was; combining all 5 lightspeed morphers to create 2 was too much energy, so the radiation levels were too high. So, if I were to create 5 morphers, with say, the Titanium Morpher and the battle boosters, the radiation should level out at close to energies we've been seeing from the experimental SPD technology."

"How long would it take?"

Angela flipped open the book in front of them, glancing out the observation window of Captain Mitchell's office in the new HQ. She pointed at the amount of time and spoke, "If I have full access to your tech team, that is."

"Like that was ever a question."

—1—

Jade Daniels, redheaded with fiery eyes, was not happy. She'd been unceremoniously tossed into some military class vehicle, shipped around blindfolded, and completely missed her Roman History exam. There was no way her mom would believe her if she said she was now staring around the new Lightspeed Headquarters.

Next to Jade stood a tall blond girl who looked absolutely dumbfounded by her surroundings. Her bright blue eyes stared in wonder at the lights, the beeping, the people; it was all so _weird_. Caitlin McLuhan was definitely not used to the tech-scene. Then again, she hadn't really asked to be escorted from her house (still in her grey hoodie and pink pajama pants) and plopped in a room with people she didn't know.

"You five have been selected because of your outstanding intellect, relation to trust Lightspeed Operatives, and previous excelled hand-to-hand combat."

Angela paused, looking at the 5 young-adults in front of her.

"What is going on?" Shannah blurted, "Why am I here, aunt Angela?"

Shannah Martinelli stood at approximately 5 feet even, having inherited her father's dark hair and eyes and her mother's love of theatre. She'd never been especially close with her aunt Angela or her cousins Patrick and Jen simply because she'd been too busy with trying to get away from her family. Not that she was particularly ashamed of them, but she felt more…held back by them. Especially because of circumstances like the one she was currently.

"You are all about to become the newest, most formidable form of defense Earth has against an all powerful crime boss."

"…No offense or anything, because I mean, I'm not really in a position to, you know, insult; but…I have no idea what you're talking about. I've never had any type of combat training, or _super _intelligence or anything…and my dad is a lawyer and my mom's a professional trainer."

Angela frowned, looking at the young man who'd just spoken. Jud Matos, the son of the head of public relations department for Lightspeed rescue, Mr. Matos, who had dealt with the acquisition of ranger rights for Lightspeed. His wife Mrs. Matos was a co-developer of the combat section of Lightspeed and had helped trained thousands of the officers that protected Mariner Bay.

"Yeah, I have to agree with him here," a young woman with dark brown long hair piped up.

She was Michelle Davenport, the daughter of Angela's first lab partner, Nathalie Davenport. Angela hadn't heard from Nathalie in years, but apparently "Chelle," as she liked to be called, went to Bayside University. Furthermore, Nathalie had previous interaction with morphers and had a vast knowledge of Lightspeed protocols.

"None of you realize this because you're all too young to know it, but your parents are were all involved with Lightspeed at one point or another. When Lightspeed first started, a secret operation known as Horizon X began. Your parents all signed up for it, stating they would submit you for "drafting" if needed.

"So, when you were all born, you were all injected with a serum called Dimorphous-Deoxyribo-reformatus."

They all blinked, but Jade cocked her head a little; "Deoxyribo-reformatus? As in restructuring our DNA?"

Angela nodded. "I'm afraid I don't have time to answer all of you questions right this moment. Jade, Shannah, Jud, Michelle, Caitlin; I need you all to become the next generation of Power Rangers: Horizon X." 


	2. Xpanding the Horizon, Part II

_Xpanding the Horizon, Part II_

"Look what the chip did to my phone!" Patrick whispered as he looked around cautiously in front of his locker.

Jennifer withdrew her Chemistry book, glancing down at Patrick's now sleek, white and gold phone.

"I meant to tell you…I sneezed this morning…my sheet totally got a nasty black hole in it."

"Hah! What a great power; acid snot!"

Jen punched her brother in the arm, "Shut up, lightboy."

"Have you tried to make anything?"

"_Make anything_? What do you mean?"

"I dunno, like, constructing something with your power. Just think of it and it should happen. Watch."

Patrick turned so only Jen could see him and opened his hands a good two inches from each other. The small white ball of light returned, only it transformed itself into an arrow; then a dog; then an actual galloping horse.

"Pretty sweet, huh?"

"You've been using these powers for the past week, haven't you? While I've been burning my sheets up with acid snot, you've been creating a light circus?"

Patrick grinned, "I've been practicing. You should see what else I can do."

Jen looked confused; "What else _can _you do?"

Patrick focused, his face flickering out of visibility until he was no longer there. For someone who was trying to keep his powers a secret, he'd just disappeared in a hallway full of teens.

"Patrick, what are you _doing_!"

He quickly reappeared, a triumphant look on his face, "Face it dude; my powers kick _ass_!"

He went to pat her on the back, but his hand passed right through her; inevitably, she screamed.

"Oh my God! What did you just do?!"

"I…I don't know! I didn't do anything!"

Jen blinked several times, catching her breath. Her brother's hand had definitely gone straight through her back.

"Pervert…" she spat out after a few minutes, "Your hand went right through my back, and out my ch—"

"Totally do _not _want to think about that…"

Jen stopped to think for a second, but was interrupted by the warning bell; "We'd better get to class…I'll find you at lunch and we'll go off campus to grab some burgers or something. Don't make any plans with your girlfriend."

Patrick rolled his eyes, "Breaking plans with Liz for my little sister…life is _so _unfair."

A loud explosion shook them from their conversation. Both siblings whipped their heads in the direction of their classmates screams.

"What the fu—"

"You two _brats _have something that my master needs."

Jen and Patrick took in the sight of the woman in front of them. She was backed by about 20 white-spandex wearing guards; they had visors over their eyes with a single red line running across the visor, much like a scanner. A few bolts stuck out from their shoulders and chests, but they appeared human. Appeared. She, on the other hand, looked entirely human. Her mouth and nose were covered by a ninja-style face mask, her auburn hair draw back tightly in a top ponytail of sorts. She wore intricate armor that seemed to be a cross between a ninja and a female gladiator—either way, the sword she was twirling spoke danger to both Patrick and Jen.

"Us?" Jen managed to squeak out.

"Yes. You. Give me the morphers. Now."

Their eyes became saucer-sized orbs as the looked at each other. How did this woman know they had the morpher chips.

"We don't know what you're talking about," Patrick lied.

The woman snapped her fingers, "Ampdrones, attack."

—2—

On an island obscured to any radar known to man, Nitros tapped his fingers in sheer boredom.

"What is taking Isis so long?" he groaned, looking towards Calisto.

The woman poked her head up from the various askew bottles and lab equipment, chuckling madly to herself. She stopped, seeming to notice that he was speaking with her, "I'm sorry, did you say something?"

Growling lowly, he replied with a dismal "nevermind."

She shrugged, going back to work on something twisted, casually whispering to herself about ruthless plans. Nitros ignored her, turning to the monitor before him. It showed downtown Mariner Bay; peaceful. He switched the monitor; peaceful. Again. And again. He moved to do so again when a woman's face was staring back at him on the screen.

"You!"

"Well nice to see you too," she bantered.

"What do you want?"

"_The Kaiser_ has information for you. Well, us, actually; I was just told to inform you."

"Of?"

"There's been a spike in the Morphin' Grid. Apparently Angela's executed Horizon X. AND, my _sources _tell me that the morphers those two kids have, you know, the one's you're chasing; yeah, they're faulty. They'd just screw up your brain."

He grimaced and curled his fingers around the arm of his chair. "Thank you for your…_help_, Oria." A wide smile played across his face and he turned to Calisto; "You! Make me something fierce!"

The woman on the screen cocked an eyebrow, "How tasteful."

"Shut up, Oria."

"Love you too, Nitros."

With that, her image flickered out.

"We will have those morphers if it's the last thing we get."

He glanced at his reflection in the monitor and took in his appearance. Over his eyes was a silvery visor that kept his eyes from being seen. Around his jaw line was something very similar to black spandex, which stretched down and covered his neck and apparently the rest of his body, as a dark blue armor covered his chest. A black jacket was worn over his armor, and his black pants closely resembled loose leather. Oddly enough, his brown hair could be seen spiked on his head.

"I have the perfect creature to get the job done!" Calisto bellowed, a spark of flame issuing from somewhere behind her.

If she'd been able to see his eyes, she would have noticed him raise an eyebrow curiously.

"Er…good. Send it out. Destroy all of downtown and lure the rangers out. I'll order Isis away from the high school and to meet the drone down there."

"…Whatever suits you," she shrugged nonchalantly, going back to her creature and resuming her strange whispering.

"…witch doctor…"

—2—

Jen skidded and slid into niche between walls, panting heavily. She'd just run through the school like she was on a marathon.

"What the hell _are _those things?" Patrick asked, visibly shaken.

"I have **no idea**, but I **knew **taking these chips was a bad idea!"

"YOU were the one who wanted to go to the basement, and if it were—"

Patrick was cut off as the wall he was leaning on blew forward, knocking debris everywhere. A lead pipe spun forward, knocking him in the forhead. Jen screamed, but the Ampdrones ran for her, not hesitating from her scream.

"Back off!"

Jen's head snapped up.

Standing about 15 feet from her, decked out in black jackets and color coded undershirts, were four girls and one boy. She immediately recognized her cousin Shannah in a blue undershirt and matching black pants and jacket.

The Ampdrones looked torn. Their little scanners kept flashing no matter which teen they looked at.

"Morphing signatures detected."

"Run!" the girl in red barked at Jen and Patrick, who was slowly recovering.

Jen heaved her brother up, supporting his weight with their arms; "Come on bro, let's jet."

"But…Shannah…"

"Talk later, run now," Jen snapped.

As soon as they were around the corner, Jade stepped forward. "I think it's time to suit up, everyone."

The others nodded, uttering various acknowledgements.

**_ "Execute Ranger Scan, Horizon-Xpand!"_**

All five called out the phrase at the exact same time; how they did it was a mystery to them. Neither had known each other longer than a day, yet they seemed to know exactly what to do, and the hand motions accompanied with the morph were intricately executed.

The light that covered them shielded them from the human eye as they were separately transported to different morphing dimensions.

Jade suited up first; a red glow beginning at her chest expanded all the way around her body, leaving spandex in its place. A single black stripe passed down her right side, which was outlined by a white stripe. On her shoulders, pad-like structures appeared, made of two circular metal plates. On her forearms, armor clasped on as sorts of gauntlets, and a skirt appeared around her hips, ending near the top of her thighs. Then, two bands wrapped around her thighs, as boots latched on in a manner similar to her gauntlets, which were then secured by two bands. A holster filled with a blaster of sorts attached to her belt, and on her chest, a diamond appeared. Out of it shot four straps, two wrapping up around her clavicle, and two wrapping around her midsection below her ribs.

Lastly, her helmet began to assemble, first with a red metal blob circling around her head; it molded onto her face before a silvery plate slapped onto her mouth and covered her nose. An X snapped on to the left side of the helmet near Jade's ear, and out of it came a comlink. Finally, a robotic scanner appeared that was instantly covered by a sharp black visor.  
In the background, Jade could hear eruptions and the ground shaking before her as she cried out, "Red Volcanic X Ranger!"

Shannah's morph followed the same process, only all of her armor was blue, and when she went to pose, snow fell around her as water surged behind her; "Blue Arctic X Ranger!"

In the same manner, Jud armored up as Lightning danced around him and electricity wrapped up his body before he shouted, "Green Pulsar Ranger!"

"Yellow Mach X Ranger!" Chelle announced, posing with tornadoes rampaging around her.

And lastly, Caitlin was clothed in pink spandex-armor like the other four rangers. Vines stretched out towards her and trees blew gracefully in the wind behind her, petals flowing freely. "Pink Blossom X Ranger!"

The group looked in awe at themselves. Never before had they felt such power.

The Ampdrones stood schocked for a moment, before Isis appeared behind them in a bluish haze. "Rangers, huh? This is going more perfectly than I'd expected."

She pulled a tube from the belt on her waist and emptied it out. A dozen balls of white goo dropped to the floor before they writhed, becoming Ampdrones. "**Kill them!**"

With the ferocity of trained assassins, the Ampdrones stampeded towards the rangers.

The rangers began making quick work of them, utilizing all the data that ran across the insides of their visors.

Several more Ampdrones were thrown into the wall beside Caitlin; she shrieked as she dodged a scorching red laser blast, and rolled over near Jade, who had just finished sideswiping two Ampdrones. Her fighting style was brutally offensive, using punches, kicks, and explosive amounts of energy to decimate her opponents.

The Red and Pink rangers leapt up and ran for the opening that suddenly filled with more Ampdrones that looked exactly alike.

"On the count of three…jump kick," Jade panted.

Caitlin looked at her like she was crazy, but kept running none the less.

"One…two…"

"THREE!"

With their joint scream, they jumped into high flying kicks that knocked the Ampdrones back down the stairs they'd come up.

Caitlin quickly resumed fighting a group of Ampdrones with dance-like moves that baffled her enemies. Her attacks flowed, executing a balanced offense and defense with a speed only outdone by Jud.

She spun around several of them, then jumped into the air and landed on one's shoulders. She wrapped her feet around his neck and backflipped, flinging him into the other four Ampdrones, knocking them all out.

Jud and Chelle were tag-teaming a group of Ampdrones; Jud using his intense speed and Chelle manhandling the drones with a brute force even Jud, the only male, didn't have.  
She flipped over his head and scissor kicked an Ampdrone, its neck cracking like a twig. She open-palmed another and swung him by his arm, crashing him into several more.  
Jud, the Green Ranger, was using high flying attacks, low sweeps, and speedy punches and take downs. He sent an electrical current through his hand at one of the Ampdrones, causing it to surge violently into another Ampdrone. They shared Jud's electricity until they melted back into white goo.

Shannah attacked by herself, using a series of well execute attacks. She fought more defensively than offensively, conserving her energy by parrying and using their energy against them. She grabbed a fist directed at her arm and froze the hand, breaking it off violently. She thrust a kick into its side, sending flying. Another Ampdrone attempted to jump on her, but she grabbed his upper arm and judo tossed him into his now handless comrade.

The Ampdrones, regrouped, showing no emotion, but instead, waving dangerously as their skin crawled. The marvelous sight of the rangers seemed to have fazed them somewhat, but then it became clear that they were melding together into some…_thing_. It was clearly humanoid, only metallic parts of its body adorned the overly large muscles it now had. Their comlinks must've formed a visor for him, as well as small metal buttons that lined his arms.

"That…is disgusting," Caitlin noted, pointing accusingly at the creature. 

"And I think…it wants to fight us," Jud said, cracking his knuckles.

"Then let's give it what it wants," Jade ordered as she pulled out her firearm and began blasting at the hideous figure.

It groaned as it charged her, picking up a ferocious amount of speed as it slammed into her, knocking her through the already demolished wall.

"Jade!"

Shannah ran to assist her, but she was back on her feet in no time, "Shouldn't I be…dead, or something?"

"This ranger stuff is awesome!" Jud enthused as electricity sparked up from his fingertips.

The Yellow Ranger and Pink ranger wasted no time testing out their newly discovered martial arts abilities as they attacked the Omega Ampdrone from all angles. They forced him back as they withdrew their blasters, firing on will.

Next up, Shannah attacked by herself, her blaster niftily transformed into a blade as she sliced at his thick skin. She then knocked him back as she conjured up a ball of ice and hurled it at him with immense force.

"Rangers, can you hear me?" Angela's voice resounded.

Shannah stopped attacking as she pressed the comlink on her left ear from instincts she'd never known she had.

"Shannah here, go ahead."

"Rangers, use your ranger data stored in the top of your helmet; it will help you access your power weapons and learn new moves."

Caitlin looked over to Jade and Shannah, nodding as she did so.

"X-Weapons, online."

In flashes of their ranger colors, weapons appeared in each ranger's hands. Jade brandished her Magma Whip, while Shannah held her Frost Chakram in one hand; Jud was swinging a lethal looking katana called the Static Saber, while Chelle tested her Sonic Bow out, and Caitlin examined her Petal Pistols.

"Time to kick some serious ass," Jade taunted as she charged forward.

The rangers made quick work of the Ampdrone mass, and backed him into a large sand dune.

"Let's combine our weapons!"

Everyone nodded at Jade as they followed the data in their helmets. When they finished, a lethal looking blaster was held up by all five rangers.

"X-Cannon!"

"Locking on! Fire!"

A kickback issued out a massive stream of energy that erased any existence of the bodyguard, leaving the rangers with their massive cannon, newly found powers, and an overly impressed Angela. 


	3. Collision Course

_Collision Course_

"These are the training grounds of the base, where you'll spend most of your time. Mr. Mitchell is in charge of this facility, so he'll give you a tour later on. For now, I'll take you by the Tech Support to introduce you to your gadget maker."

Jade, Shannah, Jud, Chelle, and Caitlin tried not to drool, but the facility was just _amazing_. There was even a small shopping mall! It was like a true military base rather than some secret underwater thing. Apparently Mitchell learned his lesson from underwater bases; floods.

Angela continued her pace, pointing at different structures and telling the rangers about them. Her own children were currently in the medical bay, and to keep herself from freaking out, she had no choice _but _to busy herself. "Over there is the weapon testing facility where you get to test out new gear. Mr. Grayson will show you around there later, also."

They walked on for a few more minutes before they entered a large building. They wound up several staircases until they met a cheery woman not much older than themselves.

"This is Sarah, the head technician here at Lightspeed," introduced Angela.

"N-no, please; not head technician, that's for you," she replied sweetly, blushing.

"Well, I'm not officially Lightspeed just yet, but we'll be more like partners," Angela said, smiling at the rangers.

"So you designed our blasters, right?" Jud asked, jumping ahead.

"That's right; they were built off sketches Angela came up with years ago, but since then, there have been new resources and ways to power them, like the Omicron Steel in your X-er Sabers."

Jud's eyes bugged. "So you mean…we're using the same stuff used to make _tanks_?"

"Well, the armor on the tanks is a bit less solid than yours; the government couldn't fund for Omicron Steel plating on a full tank."

"Amazing…"

"So who designed the suits? Because might I say…I love mine!"

Sarah smiled at Caitlin; "The suits were sketched along with the weapons when Project Horizon X first began; each of your parents had input on the design. Unfortunately, the original sketches were lost in the Aqua Base Flood, so we had to recreate the sketches. Notice how the suits have a hint of Lightspeed in them with the 4 straps running in the same direction as the 4 white marks of the Rescue Rangers? Also, the mouth guards on your helmets are based on the _inner _mouth guards of the Lightspeed helmets; a full face visor left too much vulnerability to the underlying face and put it at risk of cracking."

Caitlin's jaw hung loose.

"Oh, and rumor has it that SPD is incorporating the design for their Beta Squad. I'm not sure how much of the design they'll use, but I'm sure it'll be sufficient."

"Wait," Shannah piped up, "When we watched that Ranger Documentary after the fight, I noticed the Time Force rangers had a couple elements I see on our suits."

Angela smiled at her niece's attentiveness. "The rest of your helmets, like the top data-containing panel, was based on the Time Force helmets. Your gauntlets, also, were inspired by theirs to a certain degree."

"So where do we sleep?" Caitlin piped up, no longer interested in hearing about the suits.

"LRHQ has several barracks, but Project HX has several dorms located near the main command center."

"Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait. Wait."

Everyone turned to Shannah.

"You're telling me…we have to live…**here**?"

"Captain Mitchell doesn't want to endanger outside civilians, so if you were to live alone or with an un-powered roommate, the surrounding people would be put in danger."

Now Jade was glaring at Angela along with Shannah; "What if we don't _want _to stay here?"

Chelle added, "Isn't that something like kidnapping?"

"No, this is perfectly legal, government approved stuff."

"This is complete crap; I do NOT want to live in some _base_!" screeched the blue ranger.

"Okay, okay…calm down," Angela said, stepping back a bit; "I'll talk to Captain Mitchell and see what we can arrange. In the meantime…go have a few rounds in the Training Facility; Mr. Mitchell will be with you shortly."

The rangers sulked away into the Training Facility, leaving Sarah dumbfounded and a bit unnerved by that little debacle. She turned to Angela; "How do you _do _it?"

"Pft…sweetie, I was used to this with the Lightspeed Team, and I have 2 kids; one 18, one 16. That…was _nothing_."

—3—

"Well, Calisto, now thanks to your hesitation, there's no NEED for you damned creature. I've called in some reinforcements from an old friend; she'll be pleased to destroy the rangers."

Calisto, was still, miraculously…in the same place…tossing around bottles…and whispering to herself.

"CALISTO!"

"Oh, you rang?"

Nitros gritted his teeth, sucking in a slow breath; "My patience wears THIN with you!"

She raised an eyebrow, blinked a few times, then turned around and went back to her lab.

Nitros fixed his attention to the two other women in the room. Isis had brought Nitros' old partner to Inverness, their island. The woman stood no less than 5'9, covered in jagged, fitting bronze armor. There were two white devices around her temples, out of which a clear green visor could emerge to cover her eyes in battle.

"_Gaia_!" Nitros greeted her, hugging her like a long lost friend. Isis growled a bit in her throat, but said nothing.

"It's been far too long Nitros. Isis here tells me you're into world domination for _The Kaiser_. Is that really true?"

Nitros cracked his necked arrogantly and shrugged, "Eh, you know…I've done a few things for him."

"Most recently, he failed to get the five morphers he wanted, though," Isis chimed in.

Nitros glared at her, "I would have had the morphers if _you _had stuck around to help out the Omega Ampdrone!"

"It doesn't matter," said Gaia, "I'll take care of the rangers for you. I've been wanting to test out my TerraRider for a while now, anyway."

She moved to the side as several Ampdrones wheeled in a sparkling bronze and black motorcycle.

"You're going to fight the rangers…with a bicycle?" Isis scowled.

"With the galaxy's most feared vehicle…not just some bike," Gaia retorted, obviously indignant at Isis' tone.

"Ladies, ladies," Nitros calmed, pulling each one onto his arms, "Let's save the aggression for the rangers, shall we?"

—3—

It was amazing. The new powers that were infused with their body when they took on the Horizon X powers were just flat out amazing when working in sync with the Deoxyribo-reformatus. Not only did the combination give the rangers control over various elements, but they genetically altered the physical appearance of each ranger.

Shannah inspected her new blue finger tips. She'd never, ever been a fan of "doing her nails," but there was something about the cool blueness of them that made her instantly fall in love with them. That and the fact that they grew and shrunk at will. The color originated from such a low body temperature and the ability for her nails to grow actually came from the water in her body "freezing" in certain parts and extending through her fingertips.

Jade's hair had acquired two thick red streaks in the front, causing her to look even more fiery than usual. She liked the touch, as it saved her from ever having to wonder she'd look like with bright red hair, AND she didn't have to buy any hair dye. The red in hair, however, was due to a high increase in body temperature and her recent acquisition of pyrokinesis. Because she had a constant control over heat, the front of her hair would remain red; however, if she were to increase her control, **all **of her hair would turn crimson.

Chelle's powers had a more subtle effect on her, allowing her to change her hair length at will, as well as increasing her hearing 20 fold. She'd quickly learned to control her hearing powers, because they could prove dangerous if she listened too hard. Her hair would apparently work like a rudder of sorts, and when she achieved a high level of experience, she would be able to fly for extended periods of time.

Jud's eyesight miraculously got 20 times better to where he no longer needed glasses, and his eyes became a bright green color at all times, which he was extremely interested with. The eye color was apparently a thin layer of high-powered electrons that magnified his eyesight at will. His eyes would also brighten the more and more he manipulated electricity, to the point where he would become a magnet of sorts.

Lastly, Caitlin had found that when she felt a certain emotion, her hair would switch colors. This served no purpose, she'd originally thought, but upon further instruction, the color changing would increase or decrease her psychic abilities. For instance, if her hair turned a dark fuchsia, her powers would increase; however, if she stayed her natural blond, her psychic powers would remain neutral; the darker her hair, the more power she acquired.

"You know, I'm not sure if I really like this whole 'hair changing' thing," Caitlin said to Chelle as they ate their dinner animatedly.

Angela, as well as several ex-Lightspeed rangers, had given them full tours of the LRHQ and put them through basic training courses, which they easily excelled in. Now they were rewarded with a feast-like dinner.

"Well, mine kind of saves me a trip to the salon," Chelle shrugged, shrinking her hair into a spiked up style, and then switching back to normal.

Caitlin laughed and agreed before Jade mentioned a group-wide topic about living quarters. As Angela had mentioned before, there would be a location on base for them to live.

"I mean, sure we all get along great _now_; but living together changes everything."

"That's gonna suck for you," Shannah kidded, nudging Jud with her elbow.

"If he can put up with me, he'll live," Chelle retorted, joining in on the joke.

"Hey, hey, it's all fun and games until I find a clump of hair clogging the sink."

The table erupted in laughter at Jud's retort. Just as they did so, however, a blaring siren alerted them of other actions.

"You think that means," Shannah began saying while still eating some mashed potatoes, "That we should get to the command center?" She looked at her surroundings and noticed she was no longer in the café. "Whoa! Involuntary teleportation; **not **cool."

"No time to waste; it seems Nitros is on the attack with a new partner. Be careful rangers, this one's a known bounty hunter from Kerova known as Gaia. She might have powers you've not seen."

"We'll handle it," Jade said, motioning for everyone to line up for the morph. "Ready?"

"**Ready!**"

"_Execute Ranger Scan! __Horizon X-Pand!"_

In multicolored flashes, they were morphed on the scene of a destroyed suburban neighborhood. There were dark trenches and skid marks hinting at either a large vehicle or an odd struggle of some sort.

"Jud, can you see anything?" Jade asked, looking around at the various fires and ousting them instantly.

"Negative boss lady; everything's chill."

"Wait," Chelle, the yellow ranger, commanded, "I hear something."

It was a faint humming that was getting louder and louder; she tuned her hearing down to that of a normal human and a loud rumbling could definitely be heard.

"Sounds like a motor—" Caitlin was cut off as dark bolts of energy collided with her chest. She flew backwards, hitting an already devastated car.

"Caitlin!" called out Chelle.

Several more energy bolts scattered around, but the rangers dodged them hastily.

"Hello, rangers," Gaia greeted, dismounting her bike. Her armor was even shinier than the screen had shown back at HQ.

"Tell us what you want here!" demanded the blue ranger, Shannah.

"Mayhem and destruction." Gaia wasted no time lashing her hand out and striking Shannah with a dark gold energy blast.

The blue ranger was hurled into lawn several houses down while the others stared in disbelief.

"I am done here," Gaia spoke mechanically, mounting her bike again. She revved it up and sped off, heading towards Jade. The red ranger dodged and Gaia sped out of sight.

"Angela, we can't possibly move fast enough to catch her! What do we do?"

Angela answered Jade through the comm-link; "I'm sending you the X-er Bikes now, but be careful; they're still experimental and extremely fast."

"That's the only choice we have," Chelle chimed in on the comm-link.

Various teleportation bursts brought forth five cycles in color coordination. They were each designed on a similar mold with sharp designs and aerodynamic looks. Each bore the HX symbol on the sides and front above the single light that rested between two laser barrels. On the sides of the bikes were two missile launchers that would retract into the bikes for convenience, or reverse to fire turbo for maximum speed.

"Suh-weet!" Caitlin squeed, "These are **definitely **worth being blasted for."

Jade suppressed a chuckle and slid a hand over the seat of hers. "Nice Mrs. R."

"Glad you approve," was her snarky reply before she added, "Now catch her quickly. We don't want her causing anymore destruction."

The rangers affirmed her order and mounted their bikes cautiously before revving them up. A display screen appeared where a speedometer on regular bikes would be located, accompanied by an HX symbol, an array of buttons, and several switches. They grabbed their handlebars and sped off at once, chasing down Gaia.

—3—

It was nightmarish. The bikes proved so fast that they were incredibly difficult to control, and Gaia used every bit to her advantage. When they'd caught up to her, Gaia proved that her bike possibly slower, but much more agile. She swerved around parked cars, blasted potholes in the ground, and of course, shot blasts back at the pursuing rangers. Fed up, the rangers retaliated with their own weapons.

"Fire missiles!" Shannah shouted.

Twin missiles, dark blue like her bike, shot forth and instantly coated themselves with a metallic-looking ice. The missiles landed around Gaia, causing her to swerve a bit off course. Shannah could hear her curse.

"Fire Electron Missiles!" Jud copied.

Now, two green missiles identical to Shannah's shot forth, only they began to create magnetic fields of sorts, slowing Gaia severely and impacting on her rear wheel. The electricity that wrapped around the missiles now surged up her rear wheel before hit a button, coating the wheel in a metallic case of sorts. Her bike continued to ride smoothly—and gain speed!

"Caitlin, Chelle, use your missiles!" Jade instructed.

Caitlin launched her Ivy Missiles and Chelle her Thunder Missiles. Caitlin's instantly shot hundreds of smaller missiles the size of thorns at Gaia, hitting her exposed skin, before exploding right in front of her. Chelle's let out a disruptor wave of energy that flipped the end of Gaia's bike up. She skidded to an involuntary halt and the missile collided with the side of her bike, just beside her leg. She flew from the motorcycle and landed roughly on the ground.

"My turn," Jade grinned, "Fire Magma Missiles!"

Jade's missiles shot forth, covered in flame and a burning liquid similar to magma. They hit Gaia as she began to stand up and she was thrown back from the explosion. She smashed into a car and sent it flying into another car before she landed with a "humph."

"Let's break out the X-Cannon and finish her off!" Jud enthused, hopping off his bike.

The others flipped forward, pulling out their X-weapons as they landed.

"Another day, rangers!" Gaia swore, spinning like a tornado before disappearing in a cloud of dirt.


	4. Big Things Poppin

_Big Things Poppin_

Oria yawned, tapping her long crimson nails on the table as she stared with a blank expression at the bumbling man named Gallorix in front of her. Even as he rambled on about statistics and the like, she knew not to doubt his information, for he'd constructed the fortress Dunsinane, the very vessel on which they floated some thousands of feet in the air. Apparently, a device on the fortress created a mass of electronically impenetrable clouds that hid the fortress not only from eyes, but from radars.

"So, as you can clearly understand now, the animal is more intelligent than any human you will ever encounter. It has the power to enhance its partner's powers ten-fold, as well as the power to mechanize and enlarge itself at will."

"And you say these things were created directly _from_ the morphing grid, eh?" she asked.

"Correct. The shockwave from Zordon's tube had purified all evil within its reach; however, no one considered the effect it would have on the morphing grid, as the morphing grid was originally a power created by the constant struggle between Zordon and Lord Zedd. With the sudden neutrality, the morphing grid sent out a massive surge of energy seven different times: once when the quasar sabers were released, when the Wild Zords chose guardians, when two Power Coins were reenergized by the red and black rangers, when the Ninja schools activated their morphers, when the Dino Gems found hosts, when the Mystic Chosen were given their wands, and when the Jungle Fury rangers received their Spirit Beasts. These bursts of energy, because they were raw and natural energies, created negative counterparts that became these beasts known as Xygra Zurdae, or Xero Beasts. They were believed to be _evil_, but when Thrax destroyed Earth's main Morphing Grid link, the resulting wave of energy counteracted him and purified all the beasts except the last one to be created by the Jungle Fury Rangers' energy; the Black Unicorn."

Oria nodded, becoming more interested as she soaked in the information. She stared at the pictures running across the monitor where she could clearly make out the shapes of the animals. "I must have them all."

"Unfortunately, my lady, we were only able to retain the Black Unicorn."

He pressed several buttons and the wall to Oria's left began to rise up. She heard the irritated braying of an animal and her eyes widened at the magnificent sight. There, held in a cage the size of a shack, was a massive equine creature, a crimson horn jutting a good foot from its head. A silvery mane flittered in the dim lighting of the room, and two clever, analyzing eyes the color of steel locked her in place.

"This is Lunexia, the Dark Unicorn and youngest of the 7 Xygra Zurdae."

Oria moved closer, peering inward at the majestic wonder.

_Don't get too close, I can smell you from a good league away_.

"What was that?!" Oria half-shrieked, stepping backwards and looking around the room.

"Curses! The psionic barriers must be getting weaker. All of the Xyrga Zurdae have the ability to telepathically communicate with any living being, for their bodies were not structured to vocally express intellectual thoughts," said Gallorix as he scrambled with some machines in the corner, uttering ancient spells.

Oria rubbed the side of her head absently, fingering the golden tiara upon her head. _So this thing wants to play psychic, eh_?

_Who are you calling a thing, she-devil?_ retorted Lunexia, swinging her mane and narrowing her inscrutable eyes.

Oria smirked as she savagely stabbed at the unicorn with telepathic assaults. The beast thrashed wildly, its wild braying turning into shrieks of pure horror.

_Don't _ever _cross me again, pony, or you'll find yourself becoming my makeshift carrousel_.

Oria spun on her heel, commanded Gallroix to strengthen the barriers, and exited the room. She had a plan.

—4—

"Will you _please_ turn the heat off? I'm _smoldering_ in here!" griped Shannah, pulling her socks off angrily.

Jade set her bag of chips down and a flash of red began to appear in the rest of her hair as her temper rose; "I've already told you before; it's _only _on 80."

"Yes, meaning that every time the temperature gets to be 79 in here, your damned heat starts melting everything in here!" retorted the blue ranger, dipping her hand in her glass of now-melted ice water, refreezing it.

"It is a bit toasty in here," Caitlin added, lounging back in her chair with her book.

"No one asked you, pinky," snapped Jade.

"Guys, guys; let's just chill."

Shannah, unnerved, looked to Jud with a look of complete irritation; "Do you see any _guys_ in this room?"

"No, bu—"

"No, you don't."

"I didn't mea—"

"So don't ever call me a _guy _again."

Jud cocked an eyebrow. "Oooooookay...SO! Who wants rice?!"

A series of short, high pitched, non-rhythmical beeps changed Jud's lunch plans, however.

"Rangers, it's Angela. I need you in the command center ASAP."

"On it," Jade said, jumping up.

They teleported from the large house they'd all been sharing for the past week and arrived in the command center in flashes of their respective colors.

"What's the sitch?" Chelle asked.

"…_way _too many 90's cartoons," Shannah groaned.

"Actually, _Kim Possible_ was from the 20s," Jud corrected quickly.

"_Anyway_," Angela inserted, "I have something very important to discuss with you all."

"Monster attack downtown?" Jade asked, getting ready to morph.

"Aha…no, I'm afraid it's a bit less serious than that."

"What's up, then?"

Angela chose her words carefully and said, "My children are going to be staying with you in House of X."

"…_that's_ what you called us here for?" Shannah asked irritably.

"With Nitros looking for the morphers, he'll surely come after my family first and me first; he's already gone after Jennifer and Patrick once, and I will **not **let that happen again," Angela said sternly.

Even Shannah backed down from the icy glare she received.

"So where will you and Mr. R being staying?" Chelle inquired.

"Uhm…Joel and I have to talk about our living arrangements, but with Jennifer and Patrick in danger already, I can't afford to let them go home and be unprotected."

"Where have they been staying?" asked Jud curiously.

"Here in the medical wing," she responded, "but I can't keep them there forever, and I was afraid to let them venture off on the base without having proper instruction."

"Well, I dunno if that's such a good idea, cuz the house is already a bit…stressed," Caitlin spoke up.

"Oh?"

Shannah and Jade began talking at once about temperature, Jud was rambling about the rice he didn't get to eat, Chelle had made a point about the hot water always running out, while Caitlin began to list how many dishes had accumulated since they'd moved in. 

"QUIET!"

Silence encompassed the room.

"I'll have these things fixed as soon as I can," Angela said more calmly. "Until then, I'd appreciate if you could all do me this favor of helping my children feel welcomed."

With that, she was gone.


	5. A Link in the Chain

_A Link in the Chain_

"Why can't you tell me where my mom is?" Jen demanded loudly, glaring down the unnerved bodyguard blocking the door.

"My orders were to keep you here."

"Your _orders_?" Patrick questioned sarcastically, "Some orders those are; lock a couple teenagers in a medbay."

The man glowered, "Babysitting isn't something I thoroughly enjoy either, so why don't you both go sit down and text message or whatever it is you do?"

Patrick smirked, "You know, I like how you condescend to me when I probably outrank you here just by being my parents' son." He stood up from the bed where he was leisurely reclining and walked up to the bodyguard. He was about 4 inches shorter than the bodyguard, who stood about 6-foot-four. "You _really _don't want to mess with me, dude; I could cause you a world of pain without even touching you."

For a moment, the wall of confidence the man exuded flickered, but he huffed and put his hand on Patrick's back, motioning him back to the bed. "Sit down, kid."

But that was the last straw. With strength and power he never knew he had, Patrick grabbed his arm, flinging him into the medical bed. He landed with a crash, collapsing the bed.

Jen looked at her brother, astonished, and noticed that his eyes were glowing with an eerie whiteness.

"Oh my God, dude! Why'd you do that! Mom is going to ground us for a friggin' _year_!" Jen shouted, moving to help the man up.

Her brother blinked, shaking his head. "Holy shit, did I **really **just do that?!"

"Yes!"

Patrick blinked, gaping. "I…I don't know what got into me!"

Jen shook her head, "Didn't you finish anger management? Why in the world are you flinging people across rooms?"

"I…I don't know."

Then her statement settled in and they glanced at each other, then at the man, who was staring at Patrick like an alien.

"_How _are you flinging people across the room?" Jen asked.

—5—

Calisto rubbed the creature behind his large ears, "Aren't you just a _cute _little thing?"

The bunny she was rubbing twitched its head in response, paying her almost no attention; however, it was soon startled away as a flash of fiery teleportation filled the room.

"What brings you from your bird's nest in the sky?" Calisto asked nonchalantly as she baited the rabbit out of its hiding place.

"Business with your master. Where is he?" Oria asked, putting on her bubbly façade. She didn't know whether Nitros bought her incompetent attitude that she always used to throw him off, but she couldn't afford him knowing she was competition.

"Somewhere off with Isis and Gaia; he doesn't want to be disturbed," the monster maker replied, having finally retrieved her pet.

"That'll do nicely," Oria said sweetly as she pointed a finger at the rabbit. A blaze of fire shot from her crimson nails and the struck the creature in its forehead.

"Hey!"

Oria shot Calisto a glare but watched the animal as it began to transform. It hardly resembled a rabbit anymore, save the elongated, elf-like ears that protruded from the sides of its now masked face. Two red eyes stared at her through holes in the facemask, and his fur seemed to have hardened to the texture of a porcupine. He knelt ceremoniously before Oria in his leathery attire.

"Get up, get up, Dezziner," she said lazily, throwing on her false appearance.

"What is your bidding, my mistress?" he asked in a gravelly voice. He stood at least 7 foot with lanky sinewy muscle that was covered with a leather jacket of sorts.

Oria waited for a few moments, tapped her nail on her temple, and smiled cheekily; "Hold on just _one _moment; let me call Susano-o."

Calisto raised an eyebrow in an uninterested manner, having grown irritated since her pet was turned into a monster. She fiddled with a test tube next to her but watched half-heartedly as Oria drew a flaming square in the air. A picture of a man appeared almost instantly inside the square.

"My mistress, I'm glad you contact me. Gallorix has detected a massive surge in the morphing grid; large enough to be several _Xygra Zurdae_. When we pinpointed the energy, it was blocked by all sorts of forcefields, so we couldn't find a location, we just know it's heavily guarded; I'm assuming Horizon X has them."

Oria, who had been sitting in Nitros' throne-like chair, smiled. "Perfect. We'll just capture them then."

"Er…my lady, I regret to inform you that Gallorix says those _Xygra Zurdae_ would be of no use to us, as they are pure beings, incapable of maliciousness."

"I want those beasts found and put down before they can cause me any trouble!" Oria screamed, slamming her fist on her chair. The armrest began to crack a bit.

"Yes, of course Mistress," Susano-o replied softly.

"Take Dezziner and go to the city known as Silver Hills. Gallorix and I picked up remnants of a powerful element we can use to maybe stop these beasts."

"I will, at once," the pale-skinned solder replied, nodding, his green hair shaking in front of his red eyes.

His square flickered out of existence and the flames vanished.

"What are _you _looking at?"

Calisto rolled her eyes, "I was just observing. I liked your firescreen technique."

Oria's anger faded away, "Really? It took me _forever _to perfect."

Dezziner shook his head and teleported in a puff of smoke, to Silver Hills where he would meet Susano-o.

—5—

"This is a lot harder than you made it seem, Mrs. R," Caitlin griped. Arbrus buzzed hotly at her lack of enthusiasm.

_Maybe if you actually applied your genetic powers, you'd find out how much easier it is,_ he snapped.

"No one asked you, pinky," Caitlin shot back, remembering Jade's line from earlier that day.

"I don't get what you mean, Caitlin, it's not _that _bad," Chelle said as she hovered next to her heron, Aeric.

His deep voice boomed in Chelle's head, _You're an easy person to talk to, Chelle. You have a natural…bubbliness…to you. It soothes others._

_You too, Aeric. You're like the _zen _part of me that…well…rarely comes out._

Caitlin rolled her eyes at their obvious conversation. Not that she could hear them, but she was still irritated that she, the 'psychic' one of the group, couldn't master telepathy with a bug.

"So how are we supposed to join minds with our zords?" Jud asked. "I've been able to hold a conversation with her, but I'm not sure how we can become **one**, you know?"

Angela nodded, polishing her glasses. "_Zurdae insum Vertik _is a very advanced Eltarian technique, so it might take you guys a while to master it. For now, you just need to be able to exchange 

commands in the heat of battle, or be able to rely on one another for strength and support. Once you can bond with your _Zurda_, the _Zurdae _will be able to combine and form a _Megaen Zurda_, or a Megazord."

"But…they look completely organic? How will they become robotic?" Jade asked as she and Volkanika returned to the middle of the large room.

_We are able to call upon our inner element to empower our bodies with armor. The armor is elementally influenced from the Morphing Grid itself, and our physical and mental bodies separate, so we don't feel the 'pain' of combining into a Megaen Zurda_.

_Wow, that's amazing. Is that somewhat like what we do with morphing?_ Jade asked.

_Exactly_, Volkanika's calm, wise voice replied.

"Having any luck, Caitlin?" Shannah asked, coming near the pink ranger and her dragonfly with her snow leopard, Tundro.

"What's it to you, eh?"

Shannah looked a bit shocked at the attitude, but plowed ahead; "Well, I was just wondering if it was maybe harder for you to communicate with Arbrus because he's so small. I mean, think about it. You're trying to project your thoughts into a brain the size of a grain of sand."

_Hey!_ Arbrus bellowed indignantly through a public mental shout.

"No offense to you, of course," Shannah added hastily.

Caitlin had never thought of that. She focused extremely hard to form the words in her head and then sent them as clearly as she could to Arbrus.

_Can you enlarge yourself to maybe the size of a bird?_

She received no reply, so for a few moments, she had no idea if he'd understood her.

Then, a pink ball of energy wrapped around him and he expanded, becoming the size of an eagle.

_Better_? he asked her.

_Much! I can like, feel you in mind or something!_

"Now that we've all mentally bonded with our animals, would we be ready to use the zords in battle?" Chelle asked.

Angela nodded. "Absolutely. You'll also find that, when linked with your _Zurdae_, your powers will be so much greater than usual. With the proper training, you'll be able to link with them even if you were here in California and they were in New York."

"Talk about free long distance," Jud chimed in.

The group couldn't help but laugh, and when listening further, the rangers heard soft rumbles and whistles from the _Zurdae_ as forms of laughter.

"We should be getting back to the command center. I'm sure Jennifer and Patrick are thoroughly irritated that they've been stuffed into a room and told to wait," Angela said, sobering.

They exited the dome, leaving the _Zurdae _behind, and retrieved their morphers from the slots.

Instantly they began beeping. Suddenly, Angela's own communicator had several new messages.

"Damn! I forgot communication was blocked in there, even with the stasis hold offline!"

She listened to the messages quickly. Silver Hills was being attacked, the Silver Guardians were overwhelmed, and Gaia had been spotted in the warehouse district of Mariner Bay.

"Time to kick into action!" Jade fired up, raising her wrist.

"_Ready!"_ the other four chorused.

"_Execute Ranger Scan, Horizon X-pand!"_

No sooner had they morphed did Jade begin to strategize. "Jud and Chelle, you two take out Gaia since you two are the fastest; Shannah, Caitlin, and I will go to Silver Hills and hold the attacks off until you two can get Gaia to retreat."

"Right!" Jud and Chelle agreed. With a touch of their belts, they disappeared in flashes of green and yellow.

"Good luck, rangers," Angela told the remaining three as they teleported out.

**To be continued...**


End file.
